In a little silver lining to the enormous challenge of the coronavirus pandemic, the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association (CHSA) put a smile on the faces of staff and parents at the two children’s hospitals in Sussex when they donated boxes and boxes of delicious chocolates.

“We had bought the chocolates for our Gala Ball, which has been postponed in light of the Coronavirus,” explained David Garcia, Vice President of the CHSA. “Instead of letting them go to waste our secretary, Linda Belcher came up with the idea of giving them to Rocking Horse, the charity raising funds for the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital.

“Our Gala Ball always raises thousands of pounds for charity, the nominated charity this year being Grief Encounter. It supports young people coping with bereavement, so it seemed appropriate to donate the chocolates to the children’s hospitals.”

The chocolates were given to the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton and the Chalkhill Hospital in Haywards Heath, Sussex.

The state-of-the-art Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton offers pioneering paediatric care and provides inpatient facilities, including intensive care, and outpatient care, and a dedicated Children’s Emergency Department, for children across the whole of the South East. Over 45,000 young patients are treated at the Alex every year.

Chalkhill Hospital, in Haywards Heath, Sussex, treats children and young people (aged 12-18) experiencing emotional difficulties, mental health problems and eating disorders.